The Alchemist in Bleach

Yes, captain-level spiritual pressure!

Ichiro wished he'd misjudged the situation. A captain-level officer—that kind of person would be a significant figure in any of the 13th Divisions—and yet he was serving as a lackey for nobles… no, a suicide squad member was even less than a dog…

Of course, Ichiro actually fell into a misconception here. In reality, the power of the nobles was not strong enough to qualify a captain-level Shinigami as a suicide soldier, and neither were the five great nobles.

It's no wonder Ichiro had this thought, because this was indeed a genuine captain-level spiritual pressure, and he was indeed dressed as a suicide soldier.

However, there was one point that Ichiro overlooked due to his limited contact with them: the combat power of these suicide soldiers was far lower than that of normal Shinigami! They only possessed spiritual pressure!

These four ultimate techniques of Shinigami (Death Gods) – Slash, Fist, Walk, Ghost, and Reaper – are mostly practiced by these people. They have only mastered Slash and Walk, and not even mastered them. They focus on spiritual pressure, because Shinigami battles are battles of spiritual pressure. Techniques are only used against people of the same level.

So the answer is actually quite simple: the nobles used some kind of technology to rapidly increase the spiritual pressure of the Shinigami (death warriors). These Shinigami possessed immense spiritual pressure but lacked advanced skills, and this came with huge side effects—they could no longer make any progress. Trading the future for time is that cruel.

Moreover, only those with exceptional talent can break through to the captain-level spiritual pressure, even with the assistance of special techniques!

Under normal circumstances, as long as they spend the time and effort and don't die, this group of people will eventually become normal captain-level Grim Reapers, instead of the mere figureheads they are now.

Unfortunately, it is precisely this kind of superficiality that has brought Ichiro a great sense of pressure!

Because no matter how outstanding Ichiro's Kido techniques are, the difference in spiritual pressure is fatal...

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Chapter Sixty: Master and Disciple, and the Speed ​​of "Justice"

The world and the dragon did not rush forward, but stepped back slightly and stood with Ichiro, looking at each other with serious expressions.

Meanwhile, Ichiro was already thinking about how to escape. His burst of power was comparable to that of a typical Captain-level Shinigami, but that was all in the form of a burst. In a real fight, he would falter...

Meanwhile, as a competent villain, the leader of the assassins didn't give Ichiro any more time to think. With a wave of his right hand, he led his men to attack directly!

"Pfft!"

However, just as he took a step, his head flew high into the air!

The creature hovering in the air looked utterly bewildered. What... what's going on...?

His remaining consciousness allowed him to see a woman dressed in a white captain's robe, with the number four faintly visible behind her... The last voice he heard was...

"The swastika is all gone!"

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

........

Crimson blood kept gushing from the surrounding walls and floor, then transformed into sharp blades that wiped out the remaining assassins!

"Phew~" Seeing this, Ichiro breathed a sigh of relief, released the Shikai of Enjaku and sheathed it. He smiled as he looked at the captain who was slowly walking towards him. "Thank you, Captain. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"What have you done now? Didn't I tell you to stay put and not cause trouble?" The captain slowly sheathed his sword while coldly staring at Ichiro.

"Um... I'm sorry, Captain!" Having spent so much time with the captain, Ichiro had figured out how to get along with him. At times like this, any explanation was pointless; he should just bow down, apologize, and admit his mistake, regardless of whether it was his fault or not.

Sure enough, after seeing Ichiro bow and apologize, the captain sighed, stopped criticizing him, and asked, "Tell me, how did you offend them?"

Ichiro shrugged: "I'm not really sure either, but I have a rough guess. My friend Tenshin Ichisuke just contacted me and asked me to do her a favor. Her cousin is planning to crash the wedding at the Bee family's wedding soon, and she hopes we can help stop him."

"A wedding robbery? A robbery of the Bee family? I see. So you think someone was trying to cause trouble for the Shihouin family, and that's why they're being hunted down by the person behind it all?" The captain nodded, pondered for a moment, "Tenshin Ichiro's cousin? Oh, the one who's more handsome than you, Tenshin Ichiro."

Ichiro: "......"

“I know him a little. He shouldn’t be the kind of reckless person. Either he’s being controlled, or he’s in cahoots with the people behind the scenes.”

"Yes, that's what I think too, so I've asked my friends to investigate this matter. As long as the other captains aren't stupid, they should be able to sense that something's wrong."

"Did you notify the others? When? Before or after the attack?"

Ichiro paused for a moment, then asked, "What happened after the attack, Captain?"

"This is a big problem... Tenshin Isshu must have said this at your secret base, right? How did the other side find out?"

Upon hearing this, Ichiro was stunned. Right, how did the other party find out?

They never revealed the location of that base. In fact, even among the four of them, Ichio didn't know exactly where the base was. She only knew that it could be accessed from the school. Even Ichiro only knew the location from the original work.

In other words, only Yoruichi and Urahara knew the exact address, and how could they react so quickly to the matter discussed at the base?

“Two possibilities.” Seeing Ichiro’s puzzled expression, the captain said, “First, the other party is after you. There may be someone planning something big, but they are not the same group that attacked you.”

Ichiro pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "It's unlikely. The only reason they attacked me was for my skills. It's not that I'm arrogant, but with my strength, no one in the Seireitei could kill me without making a sound. Besides, death doesn't mean the end. They were clearly after me."

The captain nodded. Indeed, very few people in the Seireitei could kill Ichiro without making a sound. And even if something unexpected happened, there was still Shinmei Kowasho. As reserves for the Zero Division, they wouldn't just watch a genius like Ichiro perish.

Of course, what the captain didn't know was that Ichiro's statement that death didn't mean the end wasn't based on the real name of the monk...

"Then there's only the second possibility left. The other side guessed from the beginning that Tianxin Yixu would ask you guys for help, so they had people watching you from the start. As soon as you made your move, the other side made their move. Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

"Hmm, that also explains why the first assassins they sent were so weak. They probably targeted Ichiro's personal connections. By the way, Captain, this might also involve the Eleventh Division. Recently, Tenshin Ichiro's cousin has been in the Eleventh Division, probably trying to incite them."

The captain nodded and asked, "Is there any other intelligence?"

Ichiro shook his head: "That's all. I only collected this much in a short time. Oh, and I still have the corpses of those assassins who attacked me last time. I think the Second Division can find out something by handing them over."

"Understood. Then take all these corpses with you to the First Squad. I want to see who has the guts to lay a hand on you!" As he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in the captain's eyes!

Ichiro trembled at the unintentional killing intent revealed by his captain, and hurriedly ordered the demon dragon beside him to quickly collect the corpse, just like before. Then he transformed the world and the demon dragon back into Zanpakuto and put them back at his waist.

"Let's go, keep up."

"Yes!"

Shortly after the two left, the 10th Division, responsible for maintaining order, finally arrived. Faced with the mess on the ground, they seemed unusually calm...

Meanwhile, Ichiro and the captain were on their way to the First Division's barracks, unaware of the unusual arrival of the late Tenth Division, or rather, choosing not to care.

The more Ichiro learned about the Gotei 13, the more complicated things seemed. On the surface, judging from the division of duties, only the 6th Division, which was under the control of the Kuchiki family, was directly under the nobility. However, in reality, only the 1st, 4th, 8th, 11th, and 13th Divisions were truly under the control of the Gotei 13. Of the remaining divisions, the 2nd Division was completely under the control of the nobility, while the situation for the other divisions was unclear.

Therefore, in this situation, facing a dispute that was clearly initiated by nobles, Ichiro would not and dare not rashly approach other squads. The captain might dare, but she did not want to get involved in such messy matters.

In fact, if Ichiro hadn't been dragged into this, and realized that she would have stayed in the Fourth Division, quietly waiting for the outcome and then rescuing people, even the Captain-Commander might not have been able to persuade her to take action.

So even though the captain knew that the 10th Division might be involved in the attack on Ichiro, she still dragged Ichiro to the 1st Division first. She didn't want to get involved, nor did she want Ichiro to get involved. Anyway, once they got to the 1st Division and finished handing over the information, this matter would have nothing to do with Ichiro. She would cut down anyone who dared to get involved!

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Chapter 61 A Complex Situation (1/2)

After listening to Ichiro's report, the Commander-in-Chief of the First Division frowned; things had become complicated...

If it were just an attack on Ichiro, it would be simple. He could just grab his sword and start hacking around. At worst, he could establish the master-disciple relationship between Ichiro and Captain Unohana, making the attack perfectly legitimate!

But when it comes to nobles, it's a different story...

The Seireitei is an aristocratic society. Even though it has been striving to change this situation for hundreds of years, the fundamental nature of the society remains unchanged. At most, it has only increased the voice of the common people. The real decision-makers are still the nobles.

Therefore, when it comes to nobles, there are no trivial matters!

Especially in this kind of conflict between nobles, it's no longer Ichiro's business. If he pursues the matter, the other party will simply throw out a few scapegoats, offer some compensation, and then the matter will be over.

But the real issue remains unresolved, and the unrest will continue...

Taking a deep breath, the Captain-Commander instructed Chojiro, who was standing to the side, "Go and invite Captain Shihouin and Captain Kuchiki here, and also Shunsui, have him come over as well."

"Yes, Captain-Commander." Chojiro Sasaki bowed slightly and disappeared from sight.

After Chojiro left, the Captain-Commander began to question Ichiro about the whole incident, as he needed to organize his thoughts.

"Captain-Commander, shouldn't we leave the Eleventh Division alone? What if they start fighting? Won't that cause a huge problem?" Ichiro asked with a hint of worry after recounting what had happened.

After all, the captain of the 11th Division wasn't among the captains summoned by the Captain-Commander. He was quite concerned about this, especially since Captain Unohana was the founder of the 11th Division, and he had some emotional attachment to it. This matter could potentially cause the Shihouin family and the 11th Division to become enemies, which would put him in a difficult position...

"Don't worry, the Eleventh Division is a bunch of idiots now. Everyone in the Thirteenth Division knows what they're capable of, and no one will take them seriously," the Captain-Commander replied nonchalantly, flipping through the documents on the table.

After listening, Ichiro still looked at the captain with some worry, but the captain said, "It's okay. If they cause any trouble, just cut them all down. We can always find another way."

Ichiro's lips twitched. He had a feeling that the captain was a bit too bloodthirsty today... Does even the Grim Reaper have his days?

He was curious, but he didn't ask, which was foolish enough. Instead, he stood obediently to the side. At this point, there was nothing more for him to do; he just needed to watch the show. Unfortunately, he was still a little too optimistic...

........

Shihōin Seigan stood up, wiped his hands, pointed at the corpses on the ground, and said to everyone in the office, "No, these are standard assassins. They don't have any noble marks or traces of secret techniques on their bodies. The only ones who can do this are the other three major families. Others probably don't have the guts to provoke my Heavenly Gift Armored Division!"

Upon hearing this, Ichiro's eyes flickered. Having spent a lot of time with Yoruichi, he was well aware of the meaning behind Shihouin Seigan's words. The Shihouin family and the Tenjiro Armored Division were two different concepts. The former generally referred to their noble status, while the latter mostly referred to their power to suppress the Shinigami!

In Soul Society, the reason why the five noble families are the five noble families is not only because their ancestors were born at the same time as the Soul King, but more importantly, because each family has mastered some unique technologies. Among them, the Shihouin family has many divinely bestowed weapons.

(Actually, I'm very curious about how Kubo will explain this, since the Spirit King who created the three realms and the five noble families who dismembered the Spirit King are both here. How did the Western Bureau manage to be on par with the Seireitei?)

This is a rather special weapon with many functions and great power. Most importantly, many of them are very effective against Shinigami, especially Zanpakuto, which appeared later. It is a weapon that many nobles secretly fear.

But just as Shihouin Seigan said, ordinary nobles really don't dare to mess with them. The status of the five great noble families is not something to boast about. You can see that even though the Shiba family had been in decline for so long in the original work, no one dared to covet their technology.

But this put the commander in a dilemma. Without evidence, he couldn't resolve the issue in advance and could only react to each situation as it arose, which put him in a very passive position. Therefore, even though he knew it was impossible to miss any intelligence, the commander still asked unwillingly, "Is it really impossible to find anything at all?"

"It can't be found. This method suddenly spread among various families a long time ago. Because of its remarkable effectiveness, many powerful nobles now keep two groups of assassins. The ones who do all sorts of dirty work are these assassins. They are indistinguishable unless they are prisoners, but that's easier said than done. The reason why assassins are assassins is because they can be made to die at any time."

Ichiro's eyes lit up when he heard the first part, and he was about to speak, but Qingyan's last sentence cut him off.

Yes, the reason why assassins are assassins is because they can be sent to their deaths at any time...

Therefore, Ichiro's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head slightly. The captain, who noticed this, frowned slightly and shifted his position slightly to block Ichiro.

"Grandpa, I'm sorry, I haven't received any news either. We know about Tianxin Yilang of the Tianxin family gathering his teammates, and we also know about the wedding robbery, but no one knows that it was the Feng family's wedding that was being stolen, including those team members who were incited by him." Following Qingyan, Chunshui also stepped forward to report bad news.

This made the Captain-Commander frown even more. Seeing this, Ichiro also frowned slightly. With a thought, a tiny red oath appeared on Ichiro's wrist, hidden by his sleeve.

At the same time, Ichiro's voice also echoed in the captain's mind.

Ichiro: Captain, what's the worst that could happen if we don't find any information at all?

Captain: When two major families go to war, one will fall into ruin. Nobles value profit and face the most. Killing a great noble family can not only save face but also bring more benefits. They will not refuse, especially the Shihouin family, who are best at internal wars.

The captain glanced at Ichiro behind him and continued, "Don't step in recklessly. This is a matter for the nobles. As long as you don't get involved, with me here, no one will dare to touch you!"

Ichiro: Captain, you're right, but this will cause a lot of trouble for the Captain-Commander, won't it? Once the two families go to war, no matter what the outcome, it will affect the Captain-Commander's strategy, right?

The captain paused for a moment, then replied: Yes, but are you really sure? If you get involved, your peaceful days may be over.

Ichiro smiled and said directly, "Peace? How long can it be peaceful? Someone like me who does research will inevitably break taboos sooner or later. Rather than being forced to flee Soul Society later, I might as well make enough contributions now."

Everyone looked at Ichiro. The spiritual pressure fluctuations he unleashed with his Kido technique were naturally impossible to miss, so everyone was actually waiting for Ichiro and Captain Unohana. After seeing Ichiro make his decision, they smiled.

Although, in a sense, as Ichiro said, he was also thinking about his future, that was the future, not the present. Right now, he was just accepting the training from Team Thirteen, which he could continue to receive. There was no need for him to stand out now.

So when Ichiro spoke and stepped forward, the Captain-Commander and the Captain were quite pleased. However, they had no idea what bombshell Ichiro was about to drop...

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